American Heritage's Great Minds of American History

In a series of fascinating interviews, today's best and brightest historians weigh in on the crucial moments in American history. American Heritage's Great Minds of American History takes you there, imbuing the past with an immediacy that goes well beyond the scope of formal histories.

The Course of Human Events

On May 15, 2003, David McCullough presented "The Course of Human Events" as The 2003 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities in Washington, DC. The Jefferson Lecture is a tribute to McCullough's lifetime investigation of history.

The Wright Brothers

Two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize David McCullough tells the dramatic story behind the story about the courageous brothers who taught the world how to fly: Wilbur and Orville Wright.

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright's Wright Flyer became the first powered, heavier-than-air machine to achieve controlled, sustained flight with a pilot aboard. The Age of Flight had begun. How did they do it? And why?

The Great Divide: The Conflict Between Washington and Jefferson That Defined a Nation

History tends to cast the early years of America in a glow of camaraderie when there were, in fact, many conflicts between the Founding Fathers - none more important than the one between George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Their disagreement centered on the highest, most original public office created by the Constitutional Convention: the presidency. It also involved the nation's foreign policy, the role of merchants and farmers in a republic, and the durability of the union.

The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789

From Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian Joseph J. Ellis, the unexpected story of why the 13 colonies, having just fought off the imposition of a distant centralized governing power, would decide to subordinate themselves anew.

You Are Not Special: ...And Other Encouragements

A profound expansion of David McCullough, Jr.’s popular commencement speech - a call to arms against a prevailing, narrow, conception of success viewed by millions on YouTube - You Are Not Special is a love letter to students and parents as well as a guide to a truly fulfilling, happy life. By acknowledging that the world is indifferent to them, McCullough takes pressure off of students to be extraordinary achievers and instead exhorts them to roll up their sleeves and do something useful with their advantages.

The Johnstown Flood

At the end of the last century, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, was a booming coal-and-steel town filled with hardworking families striving for a piece of the nation's burgeoning industrial prosperity. In the mountains above Johnstown, an old earth dam had been hastily rebuilt to create a lake for an exclusive summer resort patronized by the tycoons of that same industrial prosperity, among them Andrew Carnegie, Henry Clay Frick, and Andrew Mellon.

To America: Personal Reflections of an Historian

Reflecting on his career, Stephen E. Ambrose - one of the country's most influential historians - confronts America's failures and struggles as he explores both its moral and pragmatic triumphs. To America celebrates the men and women who invented the United States and made it exceptional. Taking a few swings at today's political correctness, Ambrose grapples with the country's historic sins of racism, its neglect and ill treatment of Native Americans, and its tragic errors.

The War That Made America: A Short History of the French and Indian War

Apart from The Last of the Mohicans, most Americans know little of the French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years' War, and yet it remains one of the most fascinating periods in our history. In January 2006, PBS will air The War That Made America, a four-part documentary about this epic conflict. Fred Anderson, the award-winning and critically acclaimed historian, has written the official tie-in to this exciting television event.

Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany

A masterful biography of the U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations during World War II, Citizen Soldiers provides a compelling account of the extraordinary stories of ordinary men in their fight for democracy. From the high command on down to the enlisted men, Stephen E. Ambrose draws on hundreds of interviews and oral histories from men on both sides who were there.

1776

Why we think it’s a great listen: If you ever thought history was boring, David McCullough’s performance of his fascinating book will change your mind. In this stirring audiobook, McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence, when the whole American cause was riding on their success.

Turning Points in American History

These 48 lectures are your chance to relive the most groundbreaking moments in the fascinating story of the United States. They offer you a different perspective on the sweeping narrative of U.S. history. Spanning the arrival of the first English colonists to the chaos of the Civil War to the birth of the computer age and beyond, this lecture series is a captivating and comprehensive tour of those particular moments in the story of America, after which the nation would never be the same again.

Embattled Rebel: Jefferson Davis as Commander in Chief

History has not been kind to Jefferson Davis. His cause went down in disastrous defeat and left the South impoverished for generations. If that cause had succeeded, it would have torn the United States in two and preserved the institution of slavery. Many Americans in Davis's own time and in later generations considered him an incompetent leader, if not a traitor.

Publisher's Summary

In a series of fascinating interviews, today's best and brightest historians weigh in on the crucial moments in American history. American Heritage's Great Minds of American History takes you there, imbuing the past with an immediacy that goes well beyond the scope of formal histories. Roger Mudd's highly knowledgable questions illuminate five truly first-rate minds:

World War II and the Post-War Era

Stephen Ambrose, biographer of Eisenhower and Nixon, best-selling author of Citizen Soldiers and Undaunted Courage, and adviser to Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan offers his expert insight into war and its aftermath.

The American Revolution

Gordon Wood, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Radicalism of the American Revolution, and renowned expert on the colonial era brings to life the birth of the first modern democracy.

America's Forgotten Era: 1865-1914

David McCullough acclaimed historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Truman, offers his stunning perspective on the dawn of The American Century.

The American West

Richard White, MacArthur Genius Award winner and author of groundbreaking books on the American West, offers his challenging views on the winning and the losing of the West.

The Civil War

James McPherson, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Battle Cry Of Freedom, and one of the foremost experts on the Civil War offers his compelling insight into our nation's darkest and bloodiest hour.

What a pleasure it is to listen to men who've spent their lives learning and writing our history. They have such an accomplished knowledge and are so articulate and passionate for the periods they study. And Roger Mudd is just a wonderful interviewer. I downloaded this several years ago and have listened to it probably a dozen times or more since. Whenever I need a pick me up, listening to David McCullough's passion for our history will do the trick. He's just a national treasure. Download this title and don't look back... you won't regret it.

What made the experience of listening to American Heritage's Great Minds of American History the most enjoyable?

I originally own the cassette version of this audio years ago and would listen to it in the car. When I recently found it here on Audible I had to buy it again. I've been interested in history since High School and hearing these men talk about their passion was almost like listening to someone talking about old friends.

Way back when The History Channel really *was* the HISTORY channel, they had absolutely wonderful programs about...well... history! These programs frequently featured esteemed historians speaking passionately about the topics that comprised their life's work. Many of them had fabulous, evocative voices. Some of the best are featured in this audio presentation.

David McCullough, Steven Ambrose, and James McPherson make this recording worthwhile, no question. I loved hearing their knowledge, perspective, and engagement with their subjects shine through. Listening to smart, lively scholars discuss historic events and people and shed light on how they made a difference and impacted where we are today--- this is great stuff!

While I found neither Gordon Wood nor Richard White anywhere near as engaging as their peers here, I still learned things from them. White somehow just seemed too dispassionate to me, I couldn't warm up to him. At first I thought perhaps it was because his historical niche (The American West) just wasn't that interesting to me, but then I realized that wasn't true. I've found it an interesting topic in other media. But White's discussion here somehow felt bloodless and detached. I couldn't wait for his segment to end!

Still, the recording is worthwhile for McCullough and Ambrose alone. The price is a bit steep for such a short piece, but real history buffs will really love this.

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